Monday, July 17, 2017

Benefits of Taro from Dr. Mercola

Benefits of Taro

Story at-a-glance

Like
an odd-looking potato, taro is a “bulbo-tuber” grown in tropical areas
of the world, sustaining millions of people for centuries

Cryptoxanthin,
high amounts of potassium, numerous vitamins and minerals plus fiber
relate to your body in terms of cancer prevention, improved skin,
digestion, eyesight and blood sugar levels, and are just a few benefits
from taro consumption

Taro
has antibacterial potential, especially in regard to its development as a
food preservative, which the U.S. Army has undertaken with its
bacteria-resistant “burrito sandwich”

Hawaii,
where 1 in 5 children is obese and the rate of early-onset diabetes is
high, is an example of why a return to indigenous foods such as taro can
help improve the diets and lengthen the lifespans of certain
populations, such as Pacific Islanders

By Dr. Mercola
Looking like a spud on steroids, taro is a commonly eaten commodity
in areas such as Hawaii, India, Southeast Asia and other warm areas of
the world, the reason it's dubbed "potato of the tropics." Colocasia
esculenta (also called poi in its mashed form) thrives in warm, tropical
climates due to the abundance of humidity and heat. The fact that taro
is one of the few crops that thrive in flooded areas is significant to
its wide use in many different areas, as its petioles, or stalks, can
transfer even while under water.
More than 11.3 million metric tons of taro plants/roots are cultivated around the world each year.1
A perennial herb as well as a bulbo-tuber or corm, taro has gigantic
heart-shaped leaves and can grow as tall as 6 feet. Its skin is fibrous
and sometimes hairy, with concentric rings around the outside. As the
featured video above notes, large taro tubers have more starch, which is
often best for cooking.
They should be cut so the flat surface can be used as a base for
easier peeling. Taro can be cubed, steamed until tender and mashed with a
fork to make a Thai dessert called Bua Loy (which translates to
"floating lotus) and involves chewy rice balls, sweet coconut soup and
mashed taro.
With a nutty flavor comparable to water chestnuts, the color inside
is similar to a potato, or has purple flecks and streaks, which you may
know if you've ever eaten vegetable chips, typically containing other
root veggies such as batata, sweet potato and parsnip.
You can buy taro to use much as you would a potato. Frozen products
and taro flour are also available in ethnic stores. A popular way to
prepare is to slice them thin using a mandolin or the slicer gizmo in
your food processor to make taro chips. Place them on a baking sheet,
lightly brush the slices with coconut oil and bake at 350 degrees F
until they're crisp — about 15 minutes, according to Martha Stewart.2
Place them on a paper towel to cool and give them a sprinkle of sea
salt. They can be served with a dip like hummus. It should be noted that
while the leaves are also edible, both taro leaves and the root itself must be cooked, as the raw form is toxic.3
Further, "Taro contains oxalic acid, the acridity of the leaves and
corms is known to cause irritation of the skin and mouth; high levels or
prolonged consumption of oxalic acid can produce physical side
effects."4 Properly cooking taro removes this concern, however.

Taro: Good for Gut Health and Much More

Far from a being simply a cheap food source, taro is a bona fide
superfood, containing high amounts of potassium, known to be a
heart-healthy nutrient as it makes fluid transfers between your body’s
membranes and tissues easier. There’s also significant fiber, calcium
and iron, plus vitamins A, B-6, C and E. The leaves provide fiber, too,
along with protein, vitamins A, C and B-6, thiamin, copper, calcium and
folate.
Besides helping to keep you regular to promote digestive health,
fiber helps regulate your insulin and glucose levels to normalize your
blood sugar. One serving contains 27 percent of the Daily Reference
Intake (DRI). Further, one study shows that fermented taro, a poi dish,
contains even more gut-friendly bacteria than yogurt.5
Cryptoxanthin is the taro ingredient that's responsible for lowering
your risk of developing lung and oral cancers, but powerful antioxidants
certainly help in this regard.
Upon eating taro, your vision may also benefit due to antioxidant
beta-carotenes, and your skin gets a boost of health from the presence
of vitamin E and vitamin A. Additionally, wounds and blemishes heal more
rapidly and wrinkles are less visible. Lesser but still significant
amounts of copper and iron help prevent anemia and aid in healthy blood
circulation, while at the same time helping to produce red blood cells
for oxygen transit.
All these nutrients combine to "up" your immune system. Vitamin C
creates more white blood cells, which act as a defense against
disease-causing bacteria, and helps to detoxify your body.6 Amino acids and omega-3 fats
contained in taro are also very beneficial to your overall health, but
particularly your heart. Altogether, the myriad of health benefits from
all the vitamins and minerals make taro an uncommonly nutritious food.
Another nutritionally beneficial aspect of taro is that when its
granules are broken down they're only one-tenth of the size of white
potato granules, so it's easily digestible. As a review, taro
consumption, according to Organic Facts, is recognized for its ability
to:

Taro as an Antibacterial Food Preservative

Another benefit of taro is its antibacterial potential, especially in
regard to its development as a food preservative. A U.S. Army-based
study from 2000 to 2001 was designed to revitalize Hawaii's economy.
Congress allocated funds for the development of Hawaiian industries and
products, and included poi, "a purplish to grayish paste made of ground
taro." According to the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical
Command Soldier Systems Center:

"In an attempt to understand the natural fermentation of taro to
poi, bacteria have been isolated from freeze-dried poi produced in
Hawaii. Bacteria believed to be involved in the fermentation have been
isolated and identified. It was determined that taro can support the
growth of bacteriocin-producing bacteria.

Bacteriocins are small peptides that are naturally produced by
food-safe organisms that can inhibit food spoilage/pathogenic bacteria. A
relatively dilute solution of taro is needed to support the growth of
the bacteria and the production of the bacteriocin."8

In 2005, Research Gate noted that burrito sandwiches using taro were
field tested as an intermediate moisture (IM) product for military use
and tested for bacteria after periods of seven and 14 days, ending with a
56-day period, after which the abstract noted that by all appearances,
fermented taro can be a good preservation ingredient, although further
studies were recommended.9

The Decline of Taro in Hawaii

One of the oldest crops on the planet, one study described
archeologists' discovery of stone mortars and pestles in the Solomon
Islands with evidence of taro being used around 28,000 years ago. The
first European navigators found it being cultivated in both Japan and
New Zealand, and accounts from Captain James Cook's travels note taro
cultivation in Maori plantations in 1769.10 But in Hawaii, taro and poi were both sacred.
Since Western culture moved into the Hawaiian Islands beginning in
1778, taro, once a major crop grown for centuries and covering as much
as 35,000 acres, has declined so sharply that it's now estimated to
cover just 350 acres, attributed to the influx of wheat and rice
brought in from Asia and the U.S., as well as the invasion of new
diseases. In the late 1940s, a large sugar company diverted the water
source needed for taro fields, effectively shutting down production.
The last sugar plantation closed recently, however, so water rights
can again be attained for taro farmers' use. It's interesting to note,
however, that "once taro is cultivated the plant does not naturally
produce viable seeds, and is predominantly vegetatively propagated," one
study11 noted.
However, there's a new interest in this staple crop, called kalo, as
local farmers produce about 75 percent of what is consumed on the
island, which amounts to about 6.5 million pounds every year.
Ironically, much of that — about 2 million pounds — is imported from
Fiji. As a crop, taro is returning, but it's a slow process, Civil Eats12 reports.

Traditional Culture in Regard to Food

Traditional Hawaiian culture has admired a more full-figured
physique, and it's had a detrimental impact on the entire region. The
World Health Organization (WHO) described the Pacific Islands as the
most obese nations in the world, as the average population for obesity ranges from 35 percent to 50 percent; in the Cook Islands, it's just over 50 percent, and Hawaii is right next door.
About 1 in every 5 children is obese, and the rate of early-onset
diabetes is high. Even though overall health has been improving, the
above statistics are a microcosm of the region's overall health. Native
Hawaiians' life expectancy is six years lower than the state average, a
direct result of the high incidences of metabolic disorders, i.e.,
obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and higher rates of stroke and
cancer.
In the late 1980s, a study by Dr. Terry Shintani and nutritionist
Claire Hughes that simulated what Hawaiians ate before "civilization"
showed up. Study subjects ate as much taro, poi, sweet potatoes, breadfruit
and fruit as they wanted, as well as small amounts of fish and chicken.
In just 21 days, participants had lost an average of 17 pounds and had
lower levels of blood pressure and blood sugar and improved cholesterol.
Shintani wrote "The Hawaii Diet" to help steer the islanders' diets
in a better direction, both naturally and with local foods, and leads
community programs and health workshops through his nonprofit Hawaii
Health Foundation.
CNN quoted Temo Waqanivalu, program officer with WHO's Prevention of
Non-Communicable Diseases Department, a Fijian native who's battled the
issue for over a decade. He calls obesity and related illnesses a
"deadly epidemic" and said he's "seen the epidemic evolve firsthand,
aided by the cultural acceptance of bigger bodies as beautiful."13

"Up to 95 percent of the adult population are overweight or obese
in some countries. In Polynesia the perception of 'big is beautiful'
does exist, (but) big is beautiful, fat is not. That needs to get
through."14

The 'Western Diet' Now Part of the Pacific Island Legacy

One of the problems with these populations, says Dr. Jonathan Shaw,
associate director of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Australia,
is its collective genetic predisposition,
"and when exposed to Western lifestyles results in high rates of
diabetes, (it's) undoubtedly caused by high rates of obesity."
Worldwide, Waqanivalu observed, poor quality and highly energy-dense
food is the cheapest, and processed food is both easy to prepare and
cheap. Fishermen sell the fish they catch to buy canned tuna, and a
bottle of soda is often cheaper than a bottle of water. Half a century
ago, people worked their land, but urbanization and "sedentary office
cultures" have exacerbated the problem. According to CNN:

"The epidemic began through the tropical region turning its back
on traditional diets of fresh fish and vegetables and replacing them
with highly processed and energy-dense food such as white rice, flour,
canned foods, processed meats and soft drinks imported from other
countries. One of the root causes of the change is the price tag."15

A New Focus and Renewed Hope

While the decline of taro production definitely coincides with the
decline of the average Native Hawaiian's health, there's been a renewed
focus on taro production, as well as on healthy eating. Several former
taro production ponds have been resurrected, so to speak; Maui local
Hōkūao Pellegrino is one farmer who's using ancestral land to grow 45
varieties of organic taro, Civil Eats reports:

"While pursuing a graduate degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at
Hilo, Pellegrino, his father, and his mentor, Kanaʻe Keawe, a professor
of ethnobotany and master craftsman, began to clear and restore his
family's taro pond.

In 2004, after being chosen by 'Onipaʻa Nā Hui Kalo, a statewide
organization of kalo farmers, for their annual restoration project,
Noho'ana Farm was reborn. Pellegrino recalls, 'We had 125 people come
and help open our very first loʻi. Kalo farmers from the Big Island to
Kauaʻi and everywhere in between; family members, cousins, neighbors —
it was huge.'"16

Besides gearing the farm so processes can become a teaching tool for
next-generation Hawaiians, several native "value-added products," such
as poi, taro paste (paʻiʻai) and a popular taro and coconut
dessert called kulolo, are sold at the lowest price possible. "I want
people to eat healthy food at reasonable prices," he said. "Poi should
be available to everybody, and at a cost that they can afford."17
Meanwhile, Pellegrino's farm is an example of how innovative
kalo-based farm-to-table innovation can change the landscape. Over
recent years, Maui is a new beacon on the map as a food-driven
destination; Noho'ana Farm is a supplier for Maui-born chef de cuisine
Isaac Bancaco, who gained a following for using local produce like taro
and other "canoe foods" and sustainable seafood, and winning Maui Nō Ka
ʻOi Magazine's 2014 Chef of the Year.18
Over the last few decades, schools and corporations have been working
with governmental entities throughout the islands to bring about a
change in the mindset of native populations, combat and change obesity
and diabetes percentages, control the market, improve trade and adopt
school policies that enhance health. The nutritional aspects of taro are
being looked at as a viable commodity for "fixing" the Hawaiian diet,
and they may add valuable nutrition to diets worldwide as well.